It’s been hard to not watch the coming of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath over the last few days. Locally, we pretty much dodged the worst of the storm, mainly suffering through some strong winds though not as damaging as we had feared. But it’s been sad to see how Sandy has affected the coast here in the Northeast. I know that it doesn’t in any way rival the devastation of Katrina, thankfully, but its been hard to see how much damage has been inflicted on regions that are so familiar. Maybe it is the fact that this type of destruction is so uncommon in these areas that makes it so startling. I don’t know. Time will soon tell if this is indeed the result of climate change and unusual storms like Sandy will become more and more common. Our Governor Cuomo here in NY commented recently about how 100 year floods now seem to come every 2 years.
Ah, the wrath of Mother Earth.
Here’s a little music that warns about taking our relationship with Mother Earth too lightly. First recorded by cult rockers Sparks in their Glam phase in the 70’s, Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth, is covered here by my favorite, Neko Case.
I’ve been listening to and enjoying the music from the CD, Lowe Country, that I mentioned here a week or so back when I discovered that one of my paintings was featured on its cover. The album features performers from the genres of Country and Americana music doing their interpretations of songs written by the great Nick Lowe. I’ve been a big fan of Nick Lowe’s since the late 70’s since he was writing songs like Cruel To Be Kind and (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding, the latter famously covered by Elvis Costello. Lowe’s work with Rockpile also made a deep impression with me with their album, Seconds of Pleasure, being one of my all-time favorites. When I Write the Book from that album is a song that many people will recall.
For me, one of the standouts, among many, from the Lowe Country album is a version of Lowe’s I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass performed by Amanda Shires. Her version pares down the original’s late 70’s arrangement and highlights the simple flow and beauty of the lyrics and is softened by the addition of her violin. Just lovely stuff. Give a listen and have a great weekend.
Really busy this morning, trying to wrap up some things here in the studio before my show at the Kada Gallery, Inward Bound, that opens this coming Saturday evening with a reception that begins at 6 PM with a short gallery talk and runs until 9 PM. Normally, the week before the Kada show is kind of easy in the studio as it’s the last show of my year but this year is a bit different as I have one more big event after this. As a result, my work schedule is a bit more full than it normally would be. But this is actually a good thing in that it allows me to focus on things other than the upcoming opening and the angst that always accompanies it.
It seems to be working as I don’t feel nearly as anxious as I often do a day or so before the opening. Maybe it’s the distraction of the work I’ have in front of me or maybe it’s the confidence I have in the strength of the work in this show. I think this is a really strong group of work, including the piece shown above, Cool and Free, and I know that it will hang beautifully in the gallery. I feel as though I’ve done my best and I’ve learned through the 35 or so solo shows that I’ve done over the years that no amount of anxiety will change that. So, I put thoughts of the show out of my mind and get back to work.
Here’s a little bit of music to work by. It’s Uncle Tupelo’s cover of Give Back the Key to My Heart, which was originally recorded by Texas legends The Sir Douglas Quintet featuring Doug Sahm, who sings on this track. Younger readers probably have no idea who Doug Sahm is but his She’s About a Mover will most likely ring a bell with most older readers.
A lot of things happened this weekend that I could comment on here. There was Felix Baumgartner flying a balloon up tot he very edge of space then jumping out to plummet at over 600 MPH back to earth. Then there was the world of baseball where Derek Jeter fractured his ankle, bringing a state of depression to Yankee fans everywhere. And yesterday I delivered the work yesterday for my show, Inward Bound, which opens this coming Saturday at the Kada Gallery in Erie.
An interesting thing came up while talking with owner Kathy DeAngelo at the Kada. Her son, David, who lives on the West Coast, had called her and had told her that he thought someone was using one of my images on an album cover, something called Lowe Country. He was positive that it was my imagery. At first, I thought it might be coincidental, that it was an image from someone that had a style that resembled my work. But i thought I would look it up just to be sure.
So this morning I googled Lowe Country and, clicking on a link, was shocked to see one of my paintings staring out at me. It was an older piece, one from around 1997 and I couldn’t quite place the exact piece or where it might have been sold. But I was sure it was mine. It had to be or there was someone out there who was my artistic doppelganger.
The album was a tribute album featuring musicians, primarily from the country and Americana fields, doing covers of songs by Nick Lowe, which I thought was good because I have always been a fan of his work since the 70’s, especially when he was with Dave Edmunds in the band Rockpile . That didn’t help much.I still couldn’t figure out how my work had ended up there on the cover. I clicked on a few more links trying to find something that would give me some sort of an an idea. Nothing. Then I clicked on an interview with the producer of the project and the founder of Fiesta Red Records. His name was Robert Seidenberg.
In a flash it all made sense. It was his painting, or at least a portion of it. He had bought this painting from the West End Gallery when he was with Hollywood Records many years ago. My mind eased a bit at this revelation and I became pleased that the image was being used, even though I was not getting even a nod of recognition from it. I was just thrilled to see that image , especially when I saw that the whole painting wrapped around the entire jacket. Looks good.
I am not sure if I will get in touch with Mr. Seidenberg. I probably will if only to let him know I approve of its use and to let him know that he should be more thorough in using imagery in the future because of the ownership rights to images that artist maintain even after the original painting is sold. But at least I am aware that it’s out there. Thanks, David, for bring it to my attention.
[ PS : Found the Liner Notes and indeed I am credited. The painting was Lakelover from 1998.]
Here’s one of the tracks from the album, Heart of the City, from Chatham County Line.
It’s that time of the year. Cooler. Darker at the edges with leaves coming down. A feeling of reflection comes with this turn from summer to autumn and it inevitably brings to my mind September Song, the old Kurt Weill standard. It is high on my list of favorite songs and at this time of the year I tend to seek out versions of it that I haven’t yet heard. There are so many to find by such a wide array of artists, from Sinatra to Lou Reed.
I came across the version below from a guitarist I bet most of us have never heard before, Lenny Breau. I know that I didn’t know his name or work, which is a shame given the scope of his talent. He was a great jazz guitarist who died in 1984 at the age of 43 , the result of a murder which remains unsolved to this day. Another shame. But he left behind a body of work that is wonderful and his playing is well known in some circles.
His version of September Song comes from a CD, Boy Wonder, that was released after his death. It contains a group of work that he recorded as a 15 year-old when he was a studio musician in his native Maine. Beautiful work for such a young player which does this always lovely song great justice.
I recently was asked if I ever painted any landscapes from a bird’s eye perspective and this piece immediately came to mind. My records on it are sketchy but I believe it was a 6″ by 9″ image on paper painted sometime around 1996. It’s long been a favorite in my mind.
There’s something in the way the blue of the barn’s roof and the red of the silo stand out against the stripes of the fields that does something for me. I know that’s not very deep analysis but, hey, it’s early on a Sunday morning. Also, there’s something about this image that always brings to mind a song, the old gospel favorite I’ll Fly Away. Maybe that’s the connection here. The song is about a final release from the earthly bonds of life and this piece is definitely about a freedom, a release of some sort. Maybe not about the final departure but definitely about being freed and moving from one state to another.
Transformation?
I don’t know. But I do know that I like this version of I’ll Fly Away from Gillian Welch accompanied by her husband, David Rawlings. Enjoy and have a great Sunday, the last of this summer.
A friend posted one of my favorite songs online a few weeks back, the Nat King Cole version of Irving Berlin‘s classic What’ll I Do. As with just about anything Nat King Cole performed, it’s a great rendition of the song. I have heard numerous versions of this song as it has been recorded by hundreds of artists since Berlin wrote it in 1923 and, for the most part, they’re all wonderful- a tribute to Berlin’s skill as a songwriter. But I wanted to hear one that I hadn’t come across yet .
I found a version from the great Chet Baker, the late Jazz musician who I mentioned briefly in a post earlier this year. I find him a fascinating subject. His story is tragic and the images of his physical change through the years from the ravages of drugs and violence are heartbreaking. As a young lion of the jazz scene, he was truly the Golden Boy, strikingly handsome and hugely talented, and you can see life beat him down in the photos over time. There’s a worn down sadness in his being that makes a perfect match for the melancholy tones of a song like this.
Give a listen on a slow and quiet Saturday morning…
I’m in the studio on a Sunday morning and itching to get back to work. Sounds like a good time for a musical interlude, something bright and positive. This song comes to mind. It’s from Laura Marling, a young British singer/songwriter that I highlighted here back in December. It’s titled All My Rage and, despite the title, is quite upbeat, with a line that serves as a mantra: I leave my rage to the sea and the sun…
I am running around this morning, trying to get things ready for a visit to a couple of galleries over the next couple of days. I won’t be posting anything while I’m on this little roadtrip so I thought I’d just share a little music that somewhat has the tempo of my mind when I’m rolling down the road. This is a video of The Who from 1970 at the Isle of Wight doing Young Man Blues. This is a great recording so you get to see Roger Daltrey in his full-fringed, mic twirling splendor, Keith Moon at this bangin’ best and Pete Townsend tearing it up in his dystopian industrial coveralls while John Entwhistle stoically provides the bottom end that churns it all along. Just vintage great stuff.
The accompanying image shown here is a painting of mine from many years ago called Faust’s Guitar. I did a few versions of this composition and it still catches my eye. He should be wearing Pete’s coverall…
Well, another opening has passed. The West End Gallery show went well the other night, thanks to everyone who came out. I couldn’t be more appreciative for people taking time to visit and look at my work. It makes all the time and effort feel worthwhile.
The show hangs together really well with a great deal of color and warmth cast from the walls. One piece that drew a lot of comments is the painting shown here, a 16″ by 20″ canvas called Air of Mystery. It has a real presence on the wall with its strong color and purple fingers of cloud reaching across the moon/sun that sheds light on the patchwork fields on the distant hills. A blood red field that makes up the foreground adds to the mysterious feel of the piece.
I don’t really know what it means yet and, for the time being, I’m content with that. I’m going to take a few minutes to relax this morning, drink my coffee, read the newspaper then do a little painting. A good Sunday morning and I feel like I’m reflecting light which happens to be the title of a Sam Phillips song from several years back that always makes me stop and listen when it comes up on my playlist. Maybe it’s that line: Now that I’ve worn out the world/ I’m on my knees in fascination. It has it’s own melodic air of mystery. It’s from an album, A Boot and a Shoe, produced by her then husband T-Bone Burnett, that I like very much. Here it is:
It’s been hard to not watch the coming of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath over the last few days. Locally, we pretty much dodged the worst of the storm, mainly suffering through some strong winds though not as damaging as we had feared. But it’s been sad to see how Sandy has affected the coast here in the Northeast. I know that it doesn’t in any way rival the devastation of Katrina, thankfully, but its been hard to see how much damage has been inflicted on regions that are so familiar. Maybe it is the fact that this type of destruction is so uncommon in these areas that makes it so startling. I don’t know. Time will soon tell if this is indeed the result of climate change and unusual storms like Sandy will become more and more common. Our Governor Cuomo here in NY commented recently about how 100 year floods now seem to come every 2 years.
Redtree Times 